Method and apparatus for refuse disposal

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for the disposal of solid waste material in which the refuse is transported out to sea to a disposal barge. The barge is provided with a large diameter telescoping pipe extending below the surface. The upper end of the pipe extends approximately 50 feet above the surface. The refuse is conveyed from the barge to the upper end of the pipe and discharged into the pipe. The accumulation of material in the pipe from the surface of the sea to the top of the pipe causes the material to be forced downward in the pipe until it reaches the 300 foot level below the surface. Water pressure at that level compresses virtually all of the refuse in the pipe so that it descends to the sea bottom. The end of the pipe is provided with a trap for any of the materials which will float even after being compressed at that depth.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Wells A. Webb Berkeley. Calif. [21]Appl. No. 868,680 [22] Filed Oct. 23, 1969 {45] Patented July 27, 1971[73] Assignee Webbco Research & Development Corporation Berkeley, Calif.

[54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REFUSE 3,352,115 11/1967 Jurisich3,395,663 8/1968 Smith 114/28 3,426,715 2/1969 Balbi 114/27 3,456,8247/1969 Smith 214/152 3,490,812 l/l970 Uchida 214/12 X Primary Examiner-Peter Feldman ArrorneyTownsend and Townsend ABSTRACT: Method andapparatus for the disposal of solid waste material in which the refuseis transported out to sea to a disposal barge. The barge is providedwith a large diameter telescoping pipe extending below the surface. Theupper end of the pipe extends approximately 50 feet above the surface.The refuse is conveyed from the barge to the upper end of the pipe anddischarged into the pipe. The accumulation of material in the pipe fromthe surface of the sea to the top of the pipe causes the material to beforced downward in the pipe until it reaches the 300 foot level belowthe surface. Water pressure at that level compresses virtually all ofthe refuse in the pipe so that it descends to the sea bottom. The end ofthe pipe is provided with a trap for any of the materials which willfloat even after being compressed at that depth.

PATENTED JUL27 1971 SHEEIIUFZ INVENTOR.

WELLS A. WEBB Nn Qv QN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IF I IIlllllllmplllllllllllllllhlww l H. I. w O g 11VN 8% s l M l mm m om Q L N. N Om 2 NM H QI PATENTEUJUL27 1971 SHEET 2 OF 2 FBG 4 INVENTOR.

WELLS A. WEBB BY 7" a ATTORNEYS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REFUSE DISPOSALThis invention relates to the disposal at sea of solid waste materialsand, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for submerging suchrefuse in the sea so that the pressure of the sea water compresses thematerial causing it to lose its buoyancy and sink to the bottom.

The problem of solid waste disposal particularly from the increasinglylarge city population has become more and more acute. People have becomeincreasingly aware that solid waste material cannot continue to bedisposed in marsh lands and in other traditional garbage dumps" becauseof the adverse effect on the land and water adjoining such disposalareas. Incineration which has been used heretofore is unsatisfactorybecause of the problems of air pollution from gases, ash and otherpollutants.

The present invention is designed to overcome many of these problems byaffording a convenient and inexpensive method and apparatus for thedisposal of solid waste materials at sea. lt has been the practice tocarry solid waste materials some distance out to sea in open barges andthere dump the material. A large proportion of such waste material ismade up of kitchen discards, garden trimmings, wrapping material,bottles, cans, and discarded appliances, as well as the otheraccoutrements of modern day living, so that the aggregate density ofsuch solid waste material is well above the density of sea water and asa result most of it will sink to the sea bottom when dumped. However, alarge number of individual items of waste material are buoyant and willtherefore float to the surface and, if the wind and tides are favorable,will be washed ashore to contaminate beaches, marinas, harbors and othershore-related activities.

There have been many proposals made for disposal of solid wastes'in thesea including, for example, the use of an incinerator mounted on a shipin which the waste is reduced to ashes and the ashes dumped as shown inU.S. Pat. No. 2,442,686 and also the method shown in U.S. Pat. No.3,426,712 in which the waste material is wrapped in wire netting andthen dumped in the sea. Still another method is that shown in U.S. Pats.Nos. 3,456,824 and 3,395,663 in which solid waste material is placed ina container having a trap door bottom, the container lowered to aselected depth and held there and then the trap door is opened to dumpthe refuse on the sea bottom.

Each of the methods shown in the above-noted patents appear to havedrawbacks making them impractical of accomplishment. in particular thetwo last mentioned U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,395,663 and 3,456,824 appear to beexcessively cumbersome and slow moving and further appear to not providefor the collection and effective disposal of material which would notlose its buoyancy under pressure.

The present invention utilizes a large diameter pipe which extends toapproximately 50 feet above the sea surface and approximately 300 feetbelow the surface. The refuse material is carried to the upper end ofthe pipe and loaded into the pipe. Some of the heavier material willimmediately descend the length ofthe pipe and drop to the sea bottombut. since the refuse is of widely varied material, a substantialportion will remain on the surface and accumulate until it reaches apoint near the top of the pipe. The weight of the material accumulatedin the pipe will force the lowermost material down the pipe and. as morerefuse is added at the top, the accumulated refuse will be forceddownward toward the end ofthc pipe 300 feet below the surface. lt hasbeen found experimentally that typical refuse materials are renderednonbuoyant at depths of from 50 feet to 260 feet. Thus, when the refusematerials have been forced to the 300 foot level below the surface theywill have been sufficiently compressed to render substantially theentire mass of material at that level nonbuoyant thus causing it to sinkdirectly to the bottom. When the refuse to be disposed by the method andusing the apparatus of the present invention comprises the usual mixedhousehold refuse the greatest proportion of the refuse will becompressed by, the'pressure of the sea water, rendered nonbuoyant, andwill sink to the bottom. There will, however. be materials mixed intothe refuse which will not be rendered nonbuoyant by the compression ofthe sea at the 300 foot level. Such materials include certain lowdensity incompressible materials such as fats and fatty oils, waxes,polyethylene wrapping materials, polypropylene and unfilled rubber.Still another class of material which may be difficult to compress iswood fragments and in particular wood from the demolition of houses. Inorder to accommodate such incompressible materials and pieces of wood,provision is made in the present invention for a trap surrounding thebottom of the pipe. This trap will catch any materials which might tendto float back to the surface. The more solid material will remain in thetrap until the discharge pipe is raised. The smaller pieces of buoyantmaterial caught in the trap together with any liquids less dense thansea water will be pumped to the surface through a hose or pipe adjacentthe main refuse pipe for disposal in the boiler ofa steam generator or asimilar device on the barge supporting the refuse disposal pipe.

As has been noted, the disposal of pieces of wood, particularlyfromdemolition of houses, poses a more serious problem since cellularstructure of the wood is such that compression is often difficult.Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, a separate, smallerdiameter tube would be utilized for the disposal of demolition material.This tube would be fed a mixture of water and wood chips from a chippermachine connected with a pump. The small diameter tube would extend todepth in the order of 600-700 feet below the surface. This slurry ofwater and wood chips would be forced downward in the smaller diameterpipe and, when the slurry has reached a depth of approximately 600 feetthe water pressure would be sufficient to crush substantially the entiremass of wood chips so that the chips would completely lose theirbuoyancy and sink to the sea bottom.

In accordance with the present invention the large diameter pipe for theusual refuse would be made to telescope so that the pipe could be raisedfor towing the barge back to port should that be necessary. The pipewould also be hingedly connected to the barge to accommodate thewave-induced motion between the pipe and the barge itself. The hingeconnection on the main pipe also permits the pipe to be raised to emptythe buoyant materials trap affixed to the pipe when that trap becomesfull.

In order to ensure a steady flow of solid material down the largediameter pipe, water may be added at sea level, and the solid waste andwater together will flow down the pipe.

IN THE DRAWlNGS The objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent after referring to the followingspecification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the disposal apparatus mounted on abarge;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view ofthe barge;

FIG. 3 is an end view showing the main refuse pipe descending to workingdepth below the sea;

H6. 4 is a side view of the barge in which the main refuse pipe has beenpartially elevated; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the end of the disposal pipe showing thetrap housing and the discharge of compressed refuse,

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which the samereference numerals refer to identical parts in each of the severalviews, the waste disposal apparatus is mounted on a large barge 10. Asteel walled enclosure 12 is mounted on the barge to form a well intowhich waste material from lighters or other transport means may bedumped. Such transport means are well known and form no part of thepresent invention. A conventional tractor or'bulldozer 14 is provided tomove the refuse along the well to the-entrance 16 to conveyor apparatus18. The conveyor apparatus 18 will pick up the refuse material pushedthereon by the bulldozer and raise it to the top ofthe large diameterwaste disposal pipe suspended on the front end of the barge 10. Theconveyor 18 is covered by enclosure 22 so that a minimum amount of wastematerial will be blown from the apparatus into the sea.

The waste disposal pipe 20 comprises an upper section 20' and a lowersection 20". The upper section 20 is rigidly affixed to the barge bymeans of a mounting bracket 24. The lower portion 20" of the pipe isaffixed to mounting hinge 26 to permit the lower section to pivot from aposition aligned with the upper section 20' of the disposal pipe to aposition parallel to the bottom of the barge as is illustrated in H6. 1and to permit some movement between the barge and the pipe. The upperportion 28 of the lower pipe 20" is provided with a screen area 28 topermit it to pass water into the pipe to mix with the solid waste.Portion 28 is engaged in the lower end 30 of pipe 20' to form acontinuous waste disposal chamber extending from a point approximately50 feet above the water surface to a point some 300 feet below thesurface. It is preferred to have this chamber of the same diametereverywhere, or of slightly larger diameter in the descending directionto avoid locations where the waste material might wedge and stop. Thewaste disposal pipe is shown interconnected and extending extendingbelow the barge in H0. 3.

In addition to the large diameter pipe 20 which has already beendescribed there is also provided a considerably smaller diameter pipe 32which descends adjacent the main pipe 20 to a depth substantially belowthe end of the main pipe 20. This small diameter pipe 32 is used for theforcing of a slurry of water and wood chips to a point some 600 feetbelow the surface where the wood chips will become compressedsufficiently so that they lose their buoyancy and sink to the seabottom. The wood material is fed into a pulper 34 where it is broken upinto small pieces. Sea water is fed into the pulper by pump 36 throughpipe 38. From the pulper, the slurry ofchips and water is pumped by pump40 through feed pipe 42 to the main section of the small disposal pipe32 to be forced down by the pump pressure to the previously mentioneddepth.

Afflxed to the end of the large diameter pipe 20 is a bellshaped traphousing 44 for trapping and holding those pieces of refuse which are notsufficiently compressed by the water pressure to become nonbuoyant atthe depth at the end ofthe pipe. A small sump 46 is formed at the top ofthe bell housing to further trap oil, fats and similar liquid materialswhich in any event would not be compressed. The sump 46 is drained bymeans of a hose 48 connected to a reel 50 so that the hose may beretracted when the pipe 20 is telescoped upward preparatory to movingthe pipe to a position parallel to the bottom ofthe barge as shown inFIG. 1. From the reel the hose is connected to a pump 52 which draws theoil, fat and other liquid material from the sump 46 and conveys it to atank 54 on the barge for storage and disposal either by burning in asteam generator on the barge or by carrying the material back to shorefor recovery or other disposal.

The bottom of the trap housing 44 is normally open when refuse is beingdumped down the open chamber 20. When the trap is to be raised foremptying, the bottom must be closed in order to retain all the floatingmaterial therein as the trap is raised. Closing of the trap isaccomplished by means of a screen 56 which may be pulled closed by cable58 attached to a winch mounted on the barge. When the screen 56 isbrought to the approximately horizontal position it is held in place bymeans of latch 60 mounted on the trap housing. The trap housing 44 isnot solidly affixed to the pipe 20" but rather is hingedly mounted on asupport arm 62 afflxed to the pipe 20". A swing arm 64 is hinged at theupper end 66 ofthe support arm 64 so that the entire trap housing 44 maybe pivoted from the horizontal position as shown in FIG. 1 to a positionas shown by the broken lines in FIG. 1 to dump the buoyant materialswhich have accumulated therein. A cable bracket 68 is provided on thesupport arm for connecting to a cable 70 for pivoting the trap and thepipe to the horizontal position.

The pipe 20 is made up of a number of large sections designed to fit onewithin the other in order to permit the pipe to telescope into a shortenough unit to rest under the length of the vessel 10. The telescopingof the pipes may be accomplished by means of a cable or cables 72attached to a mounting ring 74 on the pipes and connected to a powerfulwinch 76. The winch will pull on the cables 72 thus lifting the lowersection of pipe and telescoping it to permit the entire section of pipeto be rotated on hinge 26 into a horizontal position under the vessel10.

The operation of the method and apparatus of the present invention is asfollows. The mixed refuse is loaded into the well 12 on the barge orother floating vessel 10. The refuse is pushed into position adjacentthe conveyor 18 and from there carried up to the top of the disposalpipe 20. The refuse drops into the pipe and falls to the water levelwhich, in the preferred embodiment, is approximately 50 feet from thetop of the disposal pipe 20. Some of the refuse will sink down throughthe pipe and drop to the bottom ofthe sea while other material willremain floating. The refuse will be piled higher and higher within thedisposal pipe and as the material accumulates its weight will force thebottom of the formerly floating material under the surface of the seaand downward in the pipe. As refuse continues to be piled into the upperend of the pipe the material on the bottom of the refuse heap within thepipe or chamber will continue to be forced downward until it reaches adepth at or before the end of the pipe at which it is compressed to suchan extent that it is rendered nonbuoyant. The compressed waste will thenpass out of the pipe and fall to the sea bottom. This process continuesas long as refuse continues to be loaded into the top of the disposalchamber. As has previously been noted, substantially the same method ofwaste disposal may be used in connection with wood from buildingdemolition. Since wood chips may require greater pressure in order tobecome nonbuoyant the present invention utilizes the combination ofachipper or pulper together with a pump to make a slurry ofsea water andthe wood chips, which slurry is then forced into a small diameter pipe.In the preferred embodiment this pipe is approximately 14 inches indiameter and extends to a depth of approximately 700 feet. At this depththe wood chips are sufficiently compressed by the pressure of the waterthat they are rendered substantially nonbuoyant and therefore will sinkto the sea bottom.

At the conclusion ofthe operation, pipe 20 may be cleaned of floatingwaste material by dropping down pipe 20 heavy objects such as sand,bricks or concrete blocks which may have previously been segregated outof the load for this purpose.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, itwill be obvious that other adaptations and modifications can be madewithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. Apparatus for refuse disposal at sea comprising an elongate verticalrefuse disposal chamber, said cham ber mounted on a floating vessel andextending a substantial distance above the surface of the sea andextendible to a depth below the surface at which the water pressure issufficient to compress substantially all refuse in the chamber at thatdepth so that such refuse becomes nonbuoyant, and loading means forplacing refuse in the disposal chamber at the upper end thereof.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the chamber is open at the bottomthereof and including trap means mounted at the lowermost portion of thechamber for collecting refuse which is not rendered nonbuoyant, andmeans for raising the trap means for discharge of the collected refuse.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 and including means connected with the trapmeans for collecting liquid waste material caught in the trap means, andmeans for removing the liquid waste from the collection means andstoring the liquid waste for disposal.

4. The apparatus ofclaim 2 and including means for enclosing the buoyantwaste in the trap means to prevent escape of the buoyant waste when thetrap is raised.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 and including means for admitting sea waterinto the chamber near the surface of the sea.

6. A method for the disposal of solid waste material at sea comprisingthe steps of placing the waste into an open ended chamber the top ofwhich is substantially above the surface of the sea and the bottom ofwhich extends to a depth below the surface at which the water pressurewill render the waste substantially nonbuoyant, and continuing to addwaste in order to compress the waste and force it down the chambertowards the bottom thereof.

7. The waste disposal method of claim 6 including the step of collectingadjacent the bottom of the chamber any buoyant waste material whichexits from the chamber.

8. The waste disposal method of claim 6 and including the step ofaccumulating any liquid waste which exits from the chamber, removing theliquid waste accumulation, and then storing the liquid waste for laterdisposal.

9. The waste disposal method ofclaim 6 wherein the placing of the wastematerial is into a closed chamberby means of a pump.

10. The waste disposal method of claim 6 and including the step ofadding sea water to the chamber to mix with the waste material about atthe level of the sea surface.

11. Apparatus for waste disposal at sea comprising a large diameter pipemounted on a barge, said pipe extending about 50 feet above the surfaceof the sea and having a portion thereof extendible to a depth of about300 feet below the surface, conveyor means for conveying refuse to thetop of the pipe and depositing the refuse therein, means for raising andlowering the extendible portions of the pipe, a closeable housing at thelowermost portion of thepipe for collecting waste matter which wouldfloat to the surface, means for raising the housing to the surface topermit discharge and collection of the waste material therein, andflexible means for removing liquid wastes from the housing and conveyingthem to a storage container.

12. The apparatus of claim 1] and wherein the extendible portion of thepipe is pivotally mounted on the barge to accommodate movement of thebarge caused by wave motion and to permit storage of that portionadjacent the barge and including means to pivot the extendible portionof pipe from the vertical to the horizontal position adjacent the barge.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 and wherein the closeable housing ispivotally mounted at the lower end of the extendible pipe to permitmovement thereof to a position above the surface of the sea when theextendible pipe is substantially horizontal so that the housing may beopened and the collected waste material therein discharged.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the extendible pipe may be loweredto a depth of at least 600 feet and including means for breaking uplarge pieces of woody waste material, means for combining the broken uppieces with water, and means for pumping the mixture of wood pieces andwater under sufficient pressure to force the mixture to the bottom ofthe extendible pipe when it is fully extended.

1. Apparatus for refuse disposal at sea comprising an elongate verticalrefuse disposal chamber, said chamber mounted on a floating vessel andextending a substantial distance above the surface of the sea andextendible to a depth below the surface at which the water pressure issufficient to compress substantially all refuse in the chamber at thatdepth so that such refuse becomes nonbuoyant, and loading means forplacing refuse in the disposal chamber at the upper end thereof.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the chamber is open at the bottom thereofand including trap means mounted at the lowermost portion of the chamberfor collecting refuse which is not rendered nonbuoyant, and means forraising the trap means for discharge of the collected refuse.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2 and including means connected with the trap meansfor collecting liquid waste material caught in the trap means, and meansfor removing the liquid waste from the collection means and storing theliquid waste for disposal.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 and includingmeans for enclosing the buoyant waste in the trap means to preventescape of the buoyant waste when the trap is raised.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1 and including means for admitting sea water into the chambernear the surface of the sea.
 6. A method for the disposal of solid wastematerial at sea comprising the steps of placing the waste into an openended chamber the top of which is substantially above the surface of thesea and the bottom of which extends to a depth below the surface atwhich the water pressure will render the waste substantially nonbuoyant,and continuing to add waste in order to compress the waste and force itdown the chamber towards the bottom thereof.
 7. The waste disposalmethod of claim 6 including the step of collecting adjacent the bottomof the chamber any buoyant waste material which exits from the chamber.8. The waste disposal method of claim 6 and including the step ofaccumulating any liquid waste which exits from the chamber, removing theliquid waste accumulation, and then storing the liquid waste for laterdisposal.
 9. The waste disposal method of claim 6 wherein the placing ofthe waste material is into a closed chamber by means of a pump.
 10. Thewaste disposal method of claim 6 and including the step of adding seawater to the chamber to mix with the waste material about at the levelof the sea surface.
 11. Apparatus for waste disposal at sea comprising alarge diameter pipe mounted on a barge, said pipe extending about 50feet above the surface of the sea and having a portion thereofextendible to a depth of about 300 feet below the surface, conveyormeans for conveying refuse to the top of the pipe and depositing therefuse therein, means for raising and lowering thE extendible portionsof the pipe, a closeable housing at the lowermost portion of the pipefor collecting waste matter which would float to the surface, means forraising the housing to the surface to permit discharge and collection ofthe waste material therein, and flexible means for removing liquidwastes from the housing and conveying them to a storage container. 12.The apparatus of claim 11 and wherein the extendible portion of the pipeis pivotally mounted on the barge to accommodate movement of the bargecaused by wave motion and to permit storage of that portion adjacent thebarge and including means to pivot the extendible portion of pipe fromthe vertical to the horizontal position adjacent the barge.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 11 and wherein the closeable housing is pivotallymounted at the lower end of the extendible pipe to permit movementthereof to a position above the surface of the sea when the extendiblepipe is substantially horizontal so that the housing may be opened andthe collected waste material therein discharged.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 11 wherein the extendible pipe may be lowered to a depth of atleast 600 feet and including means for breaking up large pieces of woodywaste material, means for combining the broken up pieces with water, andmeans for pumping the mixture of wood pieces and water under sufficientpressure to force the mixture to the bottom of the extendible pipe whenit is fully extended.